Beamline and irradiation chamber for dosimetry and biology studies using synchrotron radiation

Ultrasoft x rays are a useful probe for mechanistic studies of radiation damage in living cells. The highly localized energy deposition from a low energy x-ray occurs in a volume comparable to the sensitive biological targets within a cell, so that these low-energy x rays can be used as a tool to investigate radiation effects on the subcellular level. In the ultrasoft x-ray energy region the bright intensity and tunable energy selection of synchrotron radiation is unmatched by conventional sources. A beamline and irradiation chamber for dosimetry and radiation biology studies has been set up at the ES-0 exposure station of the Center for X-ray Lithography at Aladdin. The beamline includes a 10-μm-thick Be entrance window and a combination filter and single synthetically fabricated multilayer mirror for energy selection. The irradiation chamber contains another Mylar window for isolation, a two-dimensional scanning system allowing a 400-cm2 exposure area with scanning rates up to 3.5 cm/s, a rotating feedthrough system that enables motion in the third dimension, several viewports and a specially designed cell sample holder which can be filled with gases at various pressures and holds up to 18 cell culture dishes. The system has been characterized with a gas flow proportional counter to determine energy bandpass and spectral purity and a calorimeter and ionization chamber to assess photon intensity at various energies within the range 500--2000 eV